The Shenanigans of Barry Allen
by SenseiGrace
Summary: A collection of short stories that follows the life of The Flash. Co-written with my sister Brentinator.
1. One call away

One call away.

Joe's eyes snapped open as a blood-curdling scream of a child pierced through the air. He jumped up, running down the hall in a minute.

Joe was a seasoned detective, but neither bodies nor blood could scare him as much as the sound coming from the room at the end of the hall.

He opened the door and ran in, instantly running to the young boy who sat curled in on himself while shaking and gasping in his bed.

"Barry," he breathed, pulling him into his arms, "I gotcha, you're okay."

Barry, as much as Joe wished he was, was not his son, instead Barry had been born to the Allen's, Nora and Henry.

It wasn't until Nora had been murdered by her husband that Barry had been brought into his life. It definitely hadn't been easy for Barry, he had been plagued by nightmares, but only a few of them ended like these. This must have been one of the ones with "the man in the lighting", the being he was convinced killed his mother.

Joe held Barry close as his shaking became violent trembles. "Its alright Barr." He whispered as Barry gasped, the sound was like a vise closing around Joe's heart. "I'm right here."

Joe pulled Barry closer, he could feel his small heart beating faster than Joe thought was possible. He stroked his hair, the silky brown hair damp with sweat, the poor boy was drenched in it.

Joe placed his hand on Barry's chin, slowly pulling it up so they made eye contact. "Barry?" He asked, moving him into a more comfortable position, "Barry, can you hear me?"

Barry looked at him with unfocused green eyes, his trembling slowly coming to a stop, but that didn't stop the gasping. He nodded slowly, before letting his head droop and hit his chest.

"Barry, you gotta slow down your breathing, you're gonna hurt yourself." He told him gently, brushing a lock of wet hair away from his face.

Barry was unresponsive. Causing a nervous chill to go up Joe's spine, he knew that things fading, feeling detached from reality was a symptom of a panic attack, but it always killed Joe when it happened to the boy. "Barr," Joe said, gently patting Barry's cheek, "come on. Answer me, Barr."

Barry's head lolled to Joe's chest, his eyes were squeezed shut. "Joe." He whispered, shaking hands clutching onto Joe's shirt.

"Come on Barr, breathe in..." Joe started, taking a deep breath through his diaphragm, "and breathe out."

Barry whimpered again, pushing his face farther into Joe's chest.

Joe shook his head. "Not what I told you to do, Barry." He told him, gently moving his head from his chest, his gasping beginning to even out.

Barry looked up at him, his forest green eyes were open wide. He looked pitiful, his face slick with sweat, his mouth opened, quickly puffing short and shallow breaths.

Joe continued to breath deeply, as Barry started to catch on. He rubbed Barry's shoulder, leading him through the exercise.

He continued to hold him as the last of the tremors and gasping finally faded. "Barry?" He asked, making sure he was alright now.

Barry kept his head buried in Joe's chest, a small sob escaping him.

Joe sighed, repositioning Barry in his lap. "Barr.." he soothed, running his hand through Barry's hair as he sobbed into Joe's shirt, "it's alright, I got you."

They sat there for a moment while Barry's tears reduced to sniffles, before Joe stood up and grabbed a blanket, holding him tightly.

Barry looked up as Joe stepped quietly out of the room and down the hall, being careful not to wake up his daughter.

They knew what would happen next, it had become routine after nights like this, these attacks didn't happen daily, but it definitely happened three or four times a month. They would go downstairs and Joe would make them both a cup of hot cocoa, holding him in his arms and allowing him to cry, then Joe would make Barry tell him about his dream.

Joe laid Barry down on the sofa, placed the blanket beside him, and walked into the kitchen, thankful for the open concept so he could keep an eye on his foster son.

He began thinking about Barry as he began pouring the milk into a pot and placing it on the stove.

Barry was the sweetest little boy Joe had ever known, the smartest as well, and though he felt horrible for thinking it, he was happy Barry had come to live with him, no, he loved the Allen's, what had happened to their family had been tragic, who knew what had actually happened in that house that night, whether it had been Henry, or "the man in the lightning" who killed Nora, it was under the worst circumstances that Barry had become Joe's foster son, but he was happy that he had taken him in.

As he stirred the warming milk Barry wrapped himself in the blanket and closed his eyes making Joe look up at the clock, it was 3:47 a.m. It was late, the sun faded long ago and wouldn't be up for hours.

"Barry?" He called, pouring the heated milk into the cups with hot chocolate mix. "You still awake?"

Barry nodded, sitting up and changing the way the blanket was wrapped around him so it was laying on his back but draping over his shoulders and arms.

Joe handed him one of cups, and took a sip from the other one, the warm, soothing drink relaxing tense muscles as he felt it run down his throat.

He waited a minute before looking back to Barry, he looked tired and sad. "So, what was it this time?" He asked gently, taking another sip from his cup.

Barry gulped. "It... it was him..." He whispered, as if saying what he was would summon him here. "He came for you and Iris, and I..." He choked on tears. "I couldn't stop him."

Joe took the cups and set them on the coffee table. "The man in the lightning?" He questioned, making sure he got the right mythical creature. He knew this was Barry's only irrational fear, this one man who supposedly killed his mother, it plagued his nightmares, always coming after something. Joe had told him more than once that there was no man in lightning, but it was his father, but Barry was more stubborn than a mule, and after a few times of shed tears and trying to run away, they tried not to talk about it, they silently agreed to disagree, even though Joe knew he would never believe in "the man in the lightning", and Barry would never believe his father was a murderer.

Barry nodded slowly. "Yeah..." The sound was pitiful, and Joe hated that.

He pulled Barry to his side. "Hey, I'm right here, Iris is upstairs in bed, and you're sitting next to me. The man in the lightning isn't going to get us, he's probably sleeping, just like you should be." He told him, hoping what he said didn't cross a line.

Barry leaned against Joe's side. "I just don't wanna lose you..." He whimpered, a few tears running onto his cheeks.

Joe sat up and placed his hands on Barry's shoulders. "Barry, I ain't ever gonna leave you. I'm not that easy to get rid of, you understand?"

Barry nodded, then yawned, his eyes beginning to droop.

Joe smiled at him. "Come on Barr, it way past bedtime." He said, scooping him into his arms, then walking upstairs and into his room.

He placed him on his bed and pulled the covers up. "Goodnight Barry."

Barry turned to him. "Will you stay with me? Just till I'm asleep.." He asked sleepily, a yawn escaping him.

Joe nodded and sat on Barry's bed. "Yeah, and Barry, if you ever need me, I'm only one call away." He told him, running a hand through Barry's hair. "Night Barr."

"Goodnight Joe."


	2. Running home to you

**Hi guys!**

 **This is the second story in the collection, it's called** ** _Running home to you ._**

 **The story is based off of the scene when Henry tells Barry about his first steps.**

 **KatTheGracefulKlutz. Thank you so much! Flash is an awesome show, isn't it? Thank you for readying!**

 _Running home to you._

"C'mon Barr! You can do it!"

Nora Allen looked up from the book she was reading, in the floor her husband was practically begging their fourteen month old son to walk, to take his first steps. But instead Bartholomew just held tightly onto the table bouncing up and down and roaring with laughter.

Nora smiled. "Henry, stop pestering him, Barry will walk when he has someplace to go." She told him, putting down her book and sitting in the floor beside her baby.

Henry rolled his eyes jokingly, but turned attention back to his son who was now trying to crawl over to where all of his toys had been placed. "Nuh uh, Bartholomew," he said, making his son stand, "try to walk, no more crawling."

Barry looked up at his father and began whining, causing Nora to laugh. "Come here Bartholomew, I gotcha." She said, making Barry hold out his arms.

Nora held him in her lap, playing with his tufts of brown hair. She kissed the top of his head. "Is daddy trying to make you walk before you're ready, Barry?" She playfully asked, causing him coo and gurgle.

Nora looked up at Henry, their eyes locking for a second, smiles on both of their faces. Their son meant the world to them, he was their light, they woke up every morning to be with him.

They looked down at Barry, his head was leaned against Nora's chest, his hand balled into a fist and placed in his mouth. He looked up at his mother and smiled, his forest green eyes glowing brightly with happiness.

Nora kissed the top of his head again, then stood him up, holding onto his hands as he stood on her lap. "Bartholomew!" She cooed, "are you teasing daddy?" She rubbed her nose against Barry's.

Barry scrunched up his face and let out a shriek at such a velocity that shocked his mother, that was the last thing she expected from her fourteen month old.

"Wow, didn't know you had that in you, Slugger." Henry laughed, rubbing the boy's shoulder.

···

"You know, Joe's daughter Iris started walking a month ago," started Henry, looking over to where his son stood in his portable crib while Nora cooked dinner, "she's three months younger than Bartholomew."

Nora rolled her eyes from where she stood. "Does that really matter?" She asked, "Iris is a completely different child, she's not Barry... and before you say it, Bartholomew is not a late bloomer, this is completely normal."

Henry picked up a knife and began to chop zucchini and squash. "Yeah, but he hasn't even taken a step, Nora, don't you find that a bit odd?" He sighed.

She turned off the stove and walked over to where Bartholomew stood. She absent mindedly ran a hand through his silky hair. "No, he just doesn't have anywhere to go." She told him, Barry joining the conversation with a high pitched coo, "he'll walk."

Henry sighed.

···

"So, Barry hasn't started walking yet?" Joe West asked, looking at the child playing with his daughter.

Nora sighed from her place in the grass beside them. "Not you too, Joe," she said, watching her baby try to catch up with the walking eleven month old, "Bartholomew will walk when he wants to!"

Joe was about to reply when Barry erupted with a wail, causing everyone's attention to jump to the children. Barry was sitting down tears running down his face, clearly upset that he hadn't been able to catch up to Iris.

"Hey," Nora soothed, picking him up and placing him in her lap, "I gotcha." She rubbed his back and wiped away his tears.

Iris waddled over to Joe and sat in his lap, watching as Barry's wails reduce to sniffles and whimpers.

Barry kept his head on Nora's chest, a few runaway tears falling from his eyes every once in awhile. He sat there until he fell asleep, then she moved him to a shaded part of the yard where they had laid a blanket earlier.

As Iris went to go join him the adults looked at each other. "Poor kid..." Joe sighed, adjust his position now that his daughter was sleeping beside Barry.

Henry nodded, looking at the babies. "I still can't believe Iris is walking before Barry.." He told Joe, causing Nora to sigh again.

····

Nora looked at Barry, he sat in the floor patiently waiting for her to be finished cleaning up dinner. It amazed her that he was watching her so intently, watching her go through the different phases of cleaning dishes, it really wasn't that interesting..

After she finished putting them away she turned towards her son. "Hey Barr!" She cooed, picking him up.

Barry smiled, and squealed, leaning in and putting his head against his mother's.

Nora kissed the tip of his nose, then walked into the living room where Henry sat on the couch finishing up some work.

Nora put Barry on the floor, then sat herself. Barry instantly crawled over to the table and stood up, looking at his mother and smiled wide at his achievement.

She chuckled and smiled back. "Hey Bartholomew, why don't you go get your dinosaur book and I'll read it to you."

Barry's eyes lit up as he dropped himself to the ground and crawled over to where they had placed all of his toys. He picked up the book and turned around, crawling back to his mother.

He stayed quiet, as Nora read to him, cooing quietly at the end, then taking the book from his mom and putting it in his mouth.

"Barry!" She gently scolded, taking the book out of his mouth, "we can't eat books!" She standing up, placing Barry on the floor, then putting up the book.

When she turned around she laughed in surprise as Barry took a wobbly step before running straight into her arms.

She held him tight, laughing and crying as Henry stood up and sat with his arm around her, laughing too as he ruffled his son's hair. "Way to go, Slugger!" He praised.

Nora held Barry close. "I told you," she said, wiping away a tear, "I told you he'd walk when he had someplace to go."

And he did, they didn't know it then, but that was the beginning of a lifetime of running for their son, The Flash.


	3. Stitches

**Hey guys! Thanks for all of the great comments, I'm so happy you have enjoyed these.**

 **This is the final installment that I have ready to post. So please rush over to my profile to vote in the poll on which one I should do next.**

 **Thanks again, and enjoy!**

 _Stitches._

 _"Come on, Barry!" Iris begged, standing between him and the door._

 _Barry sighed at his crush, he placed a hand on his head and scooted passed her. "Iris, I said no!" He exclaimed, as he continued walking._

 _Iris grabbed her best friend's arm, the soft red flannel sleeve twisted under her grip. "Barry! You just got your license! Come on, just a ride!"_

 _Barry looked at Iris, her brown eyes burned with determination. His heart beat a bit faster just looking at her._

 _He had known her for ages, long before his mother had been killed by "the man in the lightning", his father had been put in Iron Heights Prison, and Joe became his foster dad._

 _His shoulders slumped. "Fine.." He groaned, turning around and walking to the door, the feeling of guilty defeat churning in his stomach._

 _He turned around and looked at Iris, her long raven black hair waved gently over her bare shoulders. "Do you have the keys? I know Joe didn't take the Sedan..." He asked, standing on his tip toes as he looked in the small basket for the keys to the Chevrolet Sedan that Joe had gotten the two of them._

 _Iris placed her hands on her hips. "Bartholomew!" She exclaimed, causing him to shoot her a glare at the mention of his first name, "you just got your license, and you wanna drive the Sedan?"_

 _Barry's eyebrows furrowed, and he lowered himself. "Iris, what are you talking about, that's our car!" He told her, running his hands through his hair, "it's not like we can take Joe's convertible!"_

 _Iris smiled, holding out a pair of keys. "Actually.. we can."_

 _Any smile on Barry's face faded as he realized what she was holding. "No," he stuttered, backing away as if the keys were his kryptonite, "I don't even wanna drive, there is no way I'm driving Joe's convertible, no.. no, you'd have to kill me, no."_

 _Iris' smile faded too. "You promised you would drive me to get ice cream after you learned to drive." She said, a hint of sadness in her voice, which Barry knew was fake._

 _Barry sighed, knowing she was telling the truth, whether or not the sadness was fake, and that she knew he didn't break promises. "I meant in the Sedan, the car I'm actually allowed to drive."_

 _"You never said that though." She pointed out, looking as if she had this fight won._

 _Barry sighed again, swearing under his breath. He stood there for a second, pursing his lips, then he walked over to Iris and grabbed the keys from her hands. "I hope you know what Joe will do if something happens." He warned, walking out the door and to the driveway where Joe's black convertible was parked._

 _Barry hesitated as Iris jumped in, her smile fading as she waited. "Oh, come on," she groaned, lifting her hands in frustration, "you're not getting cold feet are you, Bartholomew?"_

 _Barry cringed at his name before pointing to his red flannel shirt. "Please Iris, I'm always cold." He told her, climbing into the forbidden car._

 _···_

 _Barry looked out the large window, his thoughts, and eyes were on black convertible. His stomach swam with guilt, wishing that he hadn't caved in when Iris had asked him to take her._

 _"Hello, earth to Barry.." Iris called, making Barry snap into attention, "watcha thinking 'bout?"_

 _Barry looked back over at the car, causing Iris to sigh. "You know, I thought this would be a whole lot funner.." She told him, "but no, you had to go and get all guilty." She poked at his chest._

 _Barry swatted her hands away, keeping from remarking about how she was the one who wanted to take the convertible, and that he would have been fine taking the Sedan. "Are you ready to order yet?" He asked instead._

 _···_

 _They walked along the sidewalk, not far, but to a small park where they could enjoy their frozen novelties._

 _Barry looked over at Iris and smiled. "Okay, I will admit," he started, licking his vanilla ice cream cone, "this is really nice."_

 _Iris rolled her eyes, then laid her head on his shoulder. "So you're happy we went now?" She asked, as he wrapped his arm around her._

 _He nodded, licking his ice cream again, trying to eat it slow enough that he could enjoy it and not get brain freeze, but fast enough that it didn't melt all over him. "Yeah, I am," he told her, looking at her and receiving a goofy grin from Iris, "although, I would like it better if you had let me take the Sedan.."_

 _Iris rolled her eyes and put her mouth to her peppermint ice cream._

 _Barry looked at his watch, it was 6:28 p.m. he sighed, he hadn't wanted to go, and now he didn't want it to end. He had forgotten how fun it was to spend the day with Iris, it was hard to find time to spend with her with all of the school he was doing, especially with being in the Advanced Placement Program._

 _"Iris.." He said, looking down at her._

 _Iris sat up, looking at him with her glistening brown doe eyes. "Hmm?"_

 _"We should do this again soon."_

 _···_

 _It was dark now, the only indication that there was a road was the headlights from the car they weren't supposed to be driving. They were both quiet, they knew they had been out too long, and not only that but that they had taken Joe's convertible._

 _Barry spent most of his concentration on the road, the dim headlights were barely enough to penetrate the dark. "You know that Joe is going to kill us, right?" Barry half joked, giving Iris a quick glance before focusing on the road again._

 _It happened fast, before Iris could even come up with some snide remark. A yell from Barry, a scream from Iris, tires skidding, the sound of glass shattering and metal being torn, then darkness..._

 _···_

 _Iris moaned, her ankle was throbbing, then her heart skipped a beat. They were in a ditch, wrapped around a tree, the damage mostly on the driver's..._

 _"Barry!" She screamed, struggling to unbuckle her seatbelt and get to him._

 _His head was bent forward, touching his chest, blood oozing from his forehead, the glass from the shattered windshield had cut through his flannel shirt and blood was freely flowing from his arms. Iris knew that there was more damage, but it was impossible to see how much there was. "Barry?"_

 _Barry's eyes fluttered open. "Iris?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper, "Iris, what happened?"_

 _Iris bit her lip, but before she could answer Barry gagged and vomited. Her stomach lurched at the sight, but her stomach was churning anyway._

 _She struggled with her seatbelt again while Barry continued to empty his stomach. "Barry," she called, "are you okay." She knew it was a dumb question, but she still felt the need to ask it._

 _Barry whimpered, gagging again, mostly dry heaving at this point. "Iris," he asked between gags, "what happened?"_

 _"We..." She stopped, taking a deep breath as a wave of guilt hit her, "we wrecked the convertible." She told him, her voice cracking at the end._

 _Barry moaned, leaning his head back on the seat. "Iris... everything hurts..." He whispered, closing his eyes._

 _Iris also leaned back, her seatbelt feeling like it was choking her. "I know.. where does it hurt the most?" She asked, keeping her eye on her best friend._

 _Barry's head lulled to the side, looking her in the eye. "My head, my chest, and my left... no, right leg." He replied, before turning his head again, "so.. tired..."_

 _Iris' heart skipped. "Barry, don't fall asleep!" She yelled, "you probably have a concussion!"_

 _"Tired..."_

 _"Barry, come on, stay with me! Say something!" She screamed, leaning forward until the seatbelt burned against her chest and neck._

 _Barry didn't answer, his head didn't move towards her. "Barry?" She asked, nervous fear tugging at her gut._

 _He stayed unresponsive._

 _···_

 _Iris yelled for help as the sound of sirens filled the air, and bright lights blinded her. "Help please!" She cried._

 _"Hey," a paramedic soothed, running over to the car, "you're gonna be okay." He said, getting her released from her seatbelt, as another paramedic ran over._

 _"Barry.." She cried, watching as two paramedics rushed to get him out._

 _"Hey," the paramedic called, "I need you to stay focused, are you hurt anywhere?"_

 _"My ankle, and my hand." She said, looking back at Barry, who was being put onto a stretcher, one of the paramedics diagnosing the injuries he had._

 _"Okay, I'm going to lift you onto the stretcher, I don't want you putting any weight on it."_

 _Iris nodded, and he lifted her onto the stretcher._

 _···_

 _"Iris!"_

 _Iris turned her head, and smiled. "Dad!" She cried as Joe pulled her into a hug._

 _"Baby, are you okay?" He asked, looking at her._

 _Iris nodded. "I'm fine, daddy." She told him, locking her arms around him, what she said was true, she had dislocated her ankle, sprained her left wrist, gotten whiplash, and a cut deep enough for stitches, but they said she would be healed in a month._

 _Joe sat down beside her. "Is Barry out of the examination room?" He asked, grabbing her hand._

 _Iris shook her head. "No, they wanted to watch him till he woke up." She whispered, looking down at the hand her father held. She felt guilt rushing through her, she knew this was her fault._

 _Joe shifted, looking at Iris. "What happened, baby?"_

 _Iris wiped her eyes, she hadn't even realized she had been crying. "Barry... Barry and I went out and got ice cream, but we accidentally stayed out too late, it was really dark... we crashed into a tree!" She wept, tears coming full blast now._

 _Joe held her close, pressing her to his chest as she wept. "Hey, it's okay, baby. It'll be alright." He soothed, running a hand through her black hair._

 _Iris felt her guilt come to a full boil, she knew Barry would probably be blamed for this if she didn't tell him now. "Dad.. there's something I have to tell you." She started, getting Joe's attention, "it wasn't the Sedan..."_

 _Joe's eyebrows furrowed, and he crossed his arms. "What do you mean, Iris?"_

 _Iris sighed, fidgeting with her fingers. "I forced Barry to.. we took the convertible." She cried, her voice cracking at the end. "I'm sorry!"_

 _Joe inhaled deeply, rubbing his head and staying quiet._

 _Iris bit her lip, she knew she was in big trouble._

 _···_

 _"Barry, he's going to send me to jail, and shoot me seven times while I'm in... no, he's going to kill me seven times then leave my body to rot in..." Iris rambled, wishing she could get up and pace, but her newly relocated ankle kept her from doing so._

 _"Iris!" Barry cried with a shaky voice, putting a bandaged hand on his throbbing head, he was trying not to puke again, and her constant chatter was making him feel worse, "please!"_

 _Iris closed her mouth, Barry had been awake for less than an hour, he had been diagnosed with a major concussion, a broken leg, two broken ribs, and numerous cuts up and down his arms from glass and metal, a few of them deep enough to need stitches. "Sorry." She whispered._

 _Barry slowly moved his head so he was facing her. "I don't think he's gonna kill you..." He told her, his speech slurring slightly, a normal sign of a concussion._

 _Iris put her hand on his, causing him to look up at her. "Hey," she said, brushing a runaway lock of hair back into it's place, "you okay?"_

 _He closed his eyes, he looked almost peaceful, aside from the shallow breathing due to his broken ribs, and the few bandages wrapped around his thin body. "I've been better..." He whispered, holding her hand in his bandaged ones, "my head is killing me..." He added._

 _Iris looking down at her hurt wrist, Joe had left her with Barry while he dropped off his police car in exchange for the Sedan. "Joe will be in here soon, I'm not sure if he'll want to talk to us as soon as he gets in here, or wait till we're at home and he can shoot us." She rambled, absent mindedly squeezing Barry's hand tighter, causing a whimper to escape him, immediately making her loosen her grip. "Sorry, Barry."_

 _···_

 _Iris looked back at Barry as she fiddled with her fingers as much as she could with her hurt wrist, it was 2:00 a.m. They were released from the hospital at 1:35 a.m., and Barry had been placed laying down in the backseat of the Sedan and was asleep after five minutes._

 _"Dad," she started, looking back out the window, "I'm so sorry."_

 _Joe looked at her for a moment, then back at the road. "I know you are, I just can't talk about this yet."_

 _Iris nodded, looking out the window. The road was well lit in comparison to the one they had driven on earlier, the bright lights from the buildings threatened to blind her._

 _She closed her eyes, if she focused she could hear Barry softly snoring, a deeper sounding inhale to a lighter exhale, which she thought was adorable._

 _As she listened she felt another wave of guilt building up, it was her fault they were driving home at 2:00 a.m., it was her fault that her father's convertible was wrecked, it was her fault her father was angry, and it was most definitely her fault that Barry laid in the back of the Sedan with a broken body because she had forced him into taking a car she had no permission to even think about driving without Joe around._

 _She reached back and grabbed Barry's right hand from where it laid sprawled over his body and towards the floor of the car. She rubbed circles around the soft pale palm of his hand with her thumb. He had the softest hands she had ever felt, yet he never used any special soaps or moisturizer. There were times she had begged him to share his secret on how he kept them so soft, but he would just laugh and say it was a science experiment gone wrong, something she knew was a lie._

 _Iris leaned back against the seat, just holding his bony hand. She loved the boy with all of her heart, she hated the fact that his mother being murdered in front of him by his father was the reason he was here with her, but if that hadn't happened she wouldn't know Barry half as well._

 _It killed her to think that she was happy that he had come to live with them under these circumstances, it killed her to think he had just had these circumstances come into his life, it killed her to remember the panic attacks he would wake up with in the middle of the night, it killed her to remember his fear of storms because of this "man in the lightning" guy who he was convinced killed his mother, but the thing that hurt her most was the fact that he had dedicated his entire life to trying to find a way to prove that it was not his father, even when all the facts point to his evil father._

 _Iris' eyes opened when the car came to a full stop and the engine stopped purring. She yawned, realizing that she had fallen asleep. "How long was I asleep?" She asked, stretching her left arm, her right hand still in Barry's._

 _"Not long." Joe whispered, stepping out of the car._

 _Iris grabbed her crutches and gently willed her body out of the car as Joe picked up Barry and held him in his arms._

 _Pain radiated through her foot and leg as accidentally stepped with her left foot. She let out a quiet whimper, but continued walking until she was laying down on the couch in their living room._

 _Joe placed Barry in the large armchair beside Iris, and pulled an ottoman up and placed his leg on it. His eyes fluttered open for a moment before they shut again, a small whimper escaping his lips._

 _Joe leaned in and kissed Barry's forehead. "It's okay, Barr," he soothed, running a hand through Barry's spiked hair, "you're alright, just go back to sleep."_

 _Joe turned around and walked over to Iris, sitting on the ground by the edge of the couch. "Night Iris," he told her leaning in and kissing her cheek, "I love you, baby."_

 _Iris smiled. "I love you too, dad."_

 _···_

 _Iris and Barry gave each other a nervous glance. "We're so screwed.." Iris told him, looking down at her hand._

 _It was the afternoon after their accident, Joe had told them that he wanted to talk to them after work, and he was only five minutes from being home from the precinct. And Barry and Iris were both beginning to feel the nerves of being in trouble._

 _They both knew that Joe was a kind and loving father, but they weren't sure if he kept up that image up when his nice convertible was wrecked._

 _Barry stayed quiet, but did nod in agreement. Honestly, he wasn't sure what kind of punishment to expect, he didn't get in trouble half as often as Iris. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he was actually in trouble. He was pretty sure it was the time when he did a science experiment without Joe's permission in the garage and it exploded, not only making the garage uninhabitable for two weeks, but it made the yard smell rancid for another three after that._

 _But that was much different from wrecking a convertible that belongs to your foster father.._

 _···_

 _"I've thought long and hard about this." Joe told them, making both teens squirm a bit. He had a voice filled with authority, filling both of their stomachs with a pit of shame and fear._

 _Iris looked over at Barry, then back to her father._

 _"Joe, I'm really sorry." Barry whispered, keeping his gaze on his foster father. He wasn't saying it to get out of trouble, but because he loved Joe, and wrecking his car had probably fractured their relationship, he didn't want it to be permanent._

 _A thin smile found it's way to Joe's face then it changed back. "I asked a few co workers about good punishments, but most of them were too extreme, but this is what I decided." He started, taking a minute before continuing. "You two are both grounded till Barry's cast comes off."_

 _Iris and Barry looked at each other, they knew the cast would be off in six to eight weeks, so it really wasn't as bad they thought it would be, especially since Iris had been expecting to be thrown in jail._

 _"I'm not finished," Joe continued, "I asked the mechanic how much it would be to fix the car, luckily, you two didn't completely total it, it's a seven thousand dollar repair because the engine was damaged. So, as soon as you both can, you two will be getting a job to pay that off."_

 _Iris and Barry both nodded, they understood completely._

 _···_

 _Iris sat at Barry's desk her homework sprawled out on it. "Hey Barry," she started, taking her pencil's eraser out of her mouth, "can you help me with this problem?" She asked, handing him the paper._

 _He looked at it for a moment before heading it back to her. "It's seventeen." He told her, closing his eyes and leaning back down._

 _"Thanks, Barry." She said, writing down the problem._

 _"No problem." He replied, leaning over so he could see her._

 _"Hey Iris?" Barry whispered, trying to get her attention._

 _"Hmm?"_

 _"Remember yesterday, when I said we should do it again soon?" He asked, his forest green eyes glittering, causing her to smile._

 _"Yeah, what about it?" She answered, putting down her pencil and changing her position._

 _"I think it would be better if we didn't."_

 _Iris laughed, it wasn't a gentle laugh, but a roar. "Agreed."_


	4. Hangover

**HIIIIIIII FELICIAS!**

 **It's SenseiGrace's baby sister, Brentinator! I've been working on this for you guys for like 3 weeks, and I will be doing more, so don't forget to check out my page for more fun stories from a bunch of fandoms (shameless self promo).**

 **And now, on with the story!**

* * *

 _Hangover_.

"I'm not going, Iris." Barry sighed, closing the physics book in front of him to focus on his foster sister, who was shooting him a angry look, hands on her hips.

"Barry, please. It's the last party of the year before we graduate,"

"Yeah, the last HOUSE party, that Joe said would most likely be a bad scene and doesn't want to arrest us for drinking underage." Barry replied as he opened the book again, starting to read the next paragraph before Iris came over, slamming it shut and turning the desk chair to face her before Barry could even react.

"Stop acting like a nerd for one night and try to be social. You haven't gone anywhere all semester."

"Because I'm trying to get into a good college. But, you know what, if it'll make you happy, I'll drive you there, but you can't tell Joe and I'm not going in."

"Deal." Iris smiled as she went to go change, making Barry roll his eyes as he opened up the book again.

That's when he realized he would do anything for Iris.

...

"Thank you so much, Barry." Iris smiled as she got out of the car.

"Just call me when you drink too much." He chuckled as she went into the house, a grin on her face as he turned to start the car, but saw Becky smiling on the outside of his window, leading him to roll it down.

"Why aren't you partying, Barry?"

"Oh, I just need to catch up on some physics. I'm dropping Iris off and heading back home."

"Just hang out with me for a little bit?" Becky asked, batting her eyelashes at her boyfriend, making him sigh, knowing he couldn't turn her down, as he turned off the car and got out.

"Fine. Half a hour."

She nodded before he linked arms with her and they walked into the craziness that was considered a house party.

...

"Barry, one drink won't kill you." Becky chuckled, holding a shot glass towards him as he waved it away.

"Becky, I have to drive Iris home, not to mention, I'm not a drinker."

"Again, you won't get in trouble if you have a shot in your system, you won't get drunk, and you won't even have hangover." Becky insisted as he waved the glass again before she brought out the infamous puppy dog eyes. "Pwease Barry? For me?"

" I don't think this is a good idea."

"Bartholomew. Do it." Becky demanded, a full on serious glare aimed at him.

"Fine." Barry sighed as she handed him the shot glass, lifting his head up and downing the small amount, before he started coughing.

"See, that wasn't so bad." Becky smiled, handing him a beer can. "Don't do it like a shot this time." She warned him as Barry started to down the can, not wanting his girlfriend to do that again.

...

"Barry, are you ready to head out?" Iris asked, grabbing her purse before looking to see Barry slumped against a chair. "Are you OK?"

"Okiee Dokie." He grinned, his clouded pupils looking at her, or at least trying to, when it clicked.

Barry was drunk.

Iris could barely contain her laughter at the irony of the current situation. Barry Allen, the goody two shoes she knew as her foster brother was drunk. No, he was downright wasted.

She had no regrets of filming him dance and sing Baby by Justin Bieber while almost falling over his own feet, chuckling. Blackmail at it's finest, also, payback for the secret video that he had filmed after her wisdom teeth removal that everyone she knew had seen. This was a side to Barry no one's ever seen before, but all she could think was 'Dad is gonna kill us.'

After she got the footage that was needed, she turned off her phone and gently took his arm, leading him to the door.

"It's time to get home, Barry. Dad will be looking for us."

"But I'm having fun, Iris!" Barry protested, pulling out of her slight grip just as Becky came over, a glass in her hand.

"Yeah, Iris. Let him have fun. Let's go dance!" She exclaimed as Barry almost tripped over his own feet trying to lead her to the dance floor before Iris grabbed his shoulder.

"Becky, he's wasted. It's only a matter of time before he comes down from being as high as a kite."

"You're over exaggerating, Iris. You don't wanna be that person, do you?" She asked, twirling a string of her hair with her finger.

Iris looked at the high school students staring straight into her soul, before looking at Barry, and hearing the sirens getting closer, knowing everyone was about to get in trouble, not to mention what her Dad would say. She grabbed Barry's arm, yanking him out of Becky's grip.

"I don't care. Have fun in a holding cell."

...

"it's a small world after all, it's a small world after all, it's a small world after all, it's a small, small, world!"

Iris gripped the steering wheel as she turned, growling.

"Bartholomew, I swear, if you don't stop, I'm gonna be MAD."

Barry slumped back in the seat as she continued driving. In a swift movement, Barry reached his hand over, slamming the horn down, making Iris scream.

"Bartholomew Henry Allen!"

Barry jumped backwards as she took a deep breath, before continuing to drive on the freeway before Barry tapped her shoulder.

"What?" She demanded as Barry whimpered, holding his stomach.

"I'm gonna throw up."

Iris pulled over on the highway before helping him out of the Sedan as he crumpled to the ground, shaking violently as he expelled the vomit from his body, sweat coming through his clothes as Iris rubbed his back gently.

A few minutes after violently throwing up on the side of the freeway, Barry was finally able to get back up, and climb back in the car, Iris getting in as well, before she drove to the house, Barry practically falling over his own feet as she drug him into the house.

"There you two are." Joe replied, coming over to his daughter and foster son. "I told you two not to go to that party. You're lucky you aren't in a holding cell tonight. However, the house will be your holding cell for awhile."

"Dad, please don't be mad at Barry. I forced him to go."

"And he's still downright wasted." Joe replied, staring at Barry, who smiled drunkenly back at him. "Let me smell your breath, young lady."

Iris blew in his face as Joe pinched the bridge of his nose, smelling the beer on her lips.

"Bed. We'll talk in the morning."

Iris nodded as she slowly let go of Barry, helping his hand to the back of the couch before heading up the stairs. Barry tried to follow her, but instead face planted the floor, making Joe cringe before sighing, helping him off the floor.

"You're sleeping on the couch, Barry."

...

"How's Barry?" Iris whispered, glancing at her foster brother from the table, not wanting to wake him up.

"He threw up a lot last night. He fell asleep about a hour ago." Joe sighed as he drank out of his coffee mug while grabbing his jacket. "I have to get to work. Don't think you two are getting out of this just cause he's hungover as hell and I'm running late."

Iris nodded before closing the door behind her Dad, hearing Barry vomit behind her, and suddenly she wasn't so thankful it was a Saturday.

After the horrid noise stopped, only to be replaced by a small groan and the sound of a body laying back down against a squeaky couch, the female turned around to see Barry covering his eyes.

"Lights..."

Iris flicked the lights off before going into the kitchen to grab him some water just as she heard him vomit again.

"Barry, how much did you drink?" She asked, grabbing the water and the Tylenol before walking back over to him and placing them on the coffee table before sitting next to his feet and gently rubbing his back.

"I don't remember, it hurts to think." He replied as he looked over at the cup on the table. "Can you hand me the water and meds?"

"Yeah, sure." Iris smiled as she stood up, grabbing the cup and meds before helping Barry sit up as he took them. "Go back to sleep, OK?"

"I can't sleep." He whined irritably as Iris gently rubbed his back. "Can you go get me a cold washcloth, please?" He begged a few minutes later.

"Sure." She replied as she grabbed one, getting it wet, and setting it on Barry's forehead. "Better?"

"So much..." He smiled in appreciation before going silent, and drifting off.

Iris pulled out her phone, looking through it to see if anyone in her group text had captured Barry being drunk besides herself, when it rang, the contact being "unknown number".

"Hello?" She answered as she heard a sniffling person on the other end.

"Can you let me talk to Barry? I need to apologize for last night." The person, who Iris noticed as Barry's girlfriend, explained.

"He's sleeping right now, and he's really hungover."

"Just tell him that I'm so sorry for getting him so drunk and that I didn't want to hurt him but my Mom told me and my brother we could've gotten alcohol poisoning last night with a explanation and then I felt so bad cause I forced my boyfriend to drink when he didn't want to come at all." Becky went into depth, a sobbing mess now.

"I will. It's OK, Becky. You didn't know." Iris tried to assure her, but on the inside, was hoping this would lead to a breakup in the end. "I'll tell him."

"Thank you." Becky sighed as she heard a angry voice yell at her on the other line and nothing else for a few minutes before a older woman spoke.

"Becky isn't supposed to have the phone. Sorry if she was bothering you."

"No, it's OK. I'm her boyfriend's foster sister and she wanted to make sure he was OK." Iris explained to who she was 99% sure was Becky's mother

"I see. Well, tell him Becky is grounded for 6 months for her actions and won't be going on any dates."

"I will, ma'am." Iris spoke as the phone hung up.

...

"Hey." Joe greeted his foster kids who were both at the table eating. "What's for dinner?"

"I didn't have much time to make food, so I just made a bunch of mac and cheese." Iris explained, turning to her father.

"How're you feeling, Barry?"

"Better. Thanks, Joe." He whispered, taking small bites of the macaroni.

After Joe got a plate of food, he sat at the head of the table, looking at the two teens.

"Iris, you're grounded for a month. No friends, no parties, no phone unless it's a emergency, no TV and heaven forbid, no dates. I want you to leave the house for school and come straight back. I will be watching the security feed every night when I get home."

"Yes sir." Iris replied as she handed him her phone.

"Barry?" Joe tapped his shoulder to get his attention. "You're grounded for three weeks. No car privileges, no Becky, no phone unless it's a emergency, no friends, and I'm taking your college textbooks that you bought behind my back."

Barry nodded, sliding him his phone before getting up. "May I be excused?"

Joe nodded as Barry grabbed the bucket before going upstairs to his room, making Joe sigh as he stood up.

"Where are you going, Dad?" Iris asked.

"To get the textbooks from his room before he hides them. Finish your dinner and head to bed."

Iris nodded as Joe took the stairs, heading into his foster son's bedroom, expecting to see him franticly hiding the books, but instead, he was laying on the bed, starting straight up at the glow in the dark stars above his head.

"Textbooks are on my desk, Joe."

Joe raised a eyebrow as he sat on the edge of the teen's bed, before looking at the picture frame of him and Becky on Barry's nightstand from homecoming, a large crack along the glass.

"Is everything OK with you and Becky, Bar?" Joe asked with no response, leading him to try again. "You know, you can talk to me about anything, right kiddo?"

"Yeah, Becky and I haven't had a good last few weeks, since I've been blowing her off to study for the SAT's, or forgotten since I've fallen asleep preparing for finals." Barry explained as Joe patted his leg before he continued. "I've actually been thinking about breaking up with her, but we've been dating for almost two years now, and she is trying to get into the same college as me so we can be together, but last night, she got me so drunk I face planted the floor."

"How did you remember that?"

"Iris told me." Barry responded before asking. "What do I do? I'm not really in love with her anymore, especially after what she did, but she could've been drunk, and Iris told me she apologized for getting me so high last night, but that could ruin my life."

Joe sighed, placing his hand on Barry's shoulder.

"I think you need to do what you feel is right, but be careful. Now, get some sleep, you're still in trouble." Joe explained, picking up the stack of textbooks.

"Night, Joe."

"Goodnight, Barry." Joe smiled before leaving the room.

...

"Hey, Barry!" Becky smiled as Barry closed his locker. "Sorry I got you in trouble, but I have a great way we can sneak around and hang out. A loophole in our parent's plans, as it were."

"Becky, look." Barry sighed, not wanting to meet her eyes. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"OK, we don't HAVE to sneak around."

"No, I meant the hanging out part."

Becky was frozen in shock before asking, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Are you breaking up with me?"

"It's what's best. It just wasn't meant to be, but you need to move on, and so do I." Barry told her before walking away, hearing her yell after him.

"You'll be sorry for this, Bartholomew! You'll never have another girlfriend!"

Somewhere in the teen's mind, he kinda doubted that.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Grace here!**

 **I'm currently working on the next one _'My wish' ,_ and hopefully it will be done by the end of the week, or next. (Yes, Brent just informed me that it is Sunday, but you know what? It's Monday for the people in Australia, Brent! =P) **

**So yeah, have a great week, and thanks for reading! =)**


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